Morata leads Juve past Palermo

Palermo, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - Juventus climbed 14 points clear at the top of Serie A on Saturday as Alvaro Morata's 70th-minute goal was enough to give the club a 1-0 win at Palermo.

Juve has now won six straight games against Palermo, which had its 10-game home unbeaten streak snapped with Saturday's defeat.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri made a few changes ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, and although his side looked far from its best on Saturday, Morata came off the bench to rescue the win.

Palermo will be disappointed at having failed to register a shot on target in the game, while the club missed the chance to jump all the way up to seventh with a win.

It wasn't until the introduction of Morata on the hour mark that Juve really showed any intent in the final third.

But as ugly as this match was at times, Morata provided one moment of magic with 20 minutes to play as he collected the ball at the edge of the penalty area, turned and drove his shot into the far corner of the net beyond the reach of goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.

In Saturday's other match Cagliari was denied three big points by Empoli in a 1-1 draw that saw Empoli's Matias Vecino tally the equalizer in stoppage time, leaving the club three points from safety.